Radio may see a new entrant in ZEEL

Company looks to expand presence in Africa

Punit Goenka-led Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) may be a potential entrant in the radio industry. 

With the phase three radio auctions around the corner, the industry is posed to see expansion into 227 new cities through 839 frequencies which are up for auction.

“We are looking at the option. We have a lot (of presence) in television and that continues to be our priority as a network. We have presence in other mediums as well. Radio is not top priority (as television), but we are not discarding the idea completely. We have time. We’ll take a final call on it in some time. As of now, we are evaluating the possibilities,” said Goenka.

While he refrained from commenting on whether some ZEEL channels will be rebranded or taken off air completely, sources in the industry reveal that as many as four channels that have national reach form the ZEEL bouquet may go off-air by the end of the calendar year.

Goenka has been frank about ZEEL’s policy of evaluating the performance of channels in the bouquet and trimming the fat as and when required. The network took some channels like Zee Trendz and ETC Punjabi off air last year as part of the bouquet revamp strategy.

In an interview with Business Standard last year, Goenka had said, “The business is not about plenty. It is about quality. Hence, any channel or genre where we do not see long term growth prospects, will be axed. We have to take such hard calls on this. We are not here for emotions, we are here for business.”

Simultaneously, the network has been launching new channels as well. Earlier this week it launched its second channel under the “&” brand – the general entertainment channel &tv. The brand as such was launched in 2013 through the channel &pictures. The idea of launching the brand was to capture the viewership among contemporary members of the audience across age-groups. The new GEC will go on air from March 2.

Apart from a new brand, the network launched it premium GEC Zindagi, which showcases content from Pakistan and will later showcase imports from Turkey and Egypt if all goes according to plan. It also launched another GEC – Zee Anmol, which is a free-to-air channel and telecasts archival content from the flagship GEC Zee Tv.

In addition to expanding its network in the country, ZEEL is also looking at new markets overseas. While in 2014 (calendar year) the network expanded its presence in South East Asia (Thailand and Vietnam), this calendar year it will fortify its presence in Africa.

“We are also looking at Latin America since it has distinct similarities in culture and TV viewing habits. The (television) soaps trend is strong there as well and it makes sense to explore the market. Cinema is seeing Germany, France and Belgium grow as markets for Bollywood and we are also looking at them closely. The timing should be right, but till then, we shall look at possibilities around the globe,” says Goenka.